CHICAGO – A dominant 18-8 second quarter sparked the Owls to a 73-56 win over Chicago State on Monday inside Jones Convocation Center. The win marked the Owls seventh-straight and the program’s longest winning streak since the 2013-14 season.
“I’m very proud of our team for grinding out a win after a long week of finals,” said head coach Jennifer Sullivan. “We were able to get contributions across the bench and we’re excited to rest and prepare for Illinois.”
Three Owls registered double digits in the win, paced by Sofia Galeron, who scored a team-high 15 points, marking her second team-leading performance of the season, shooting 40 percent (4-of-10) from the field and a perfect 100 percent (6-of-6) from the free throw line. She also collected a team-high eight rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Joiya Maddox scored 12 points in the win, tying a career-best four made 3-pointers (4-of-6), in addition to tallying three rebounds and a steal. Janeta Rozentale rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers, recording her eighth double-digit performance of the season with 10 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from the line. Rozentale also tallied six rebounds, an assist, and a block.
After three ties to open the contest, the Owls stayed locked with the Cougars 6-6 after FAU’s first field goal of the contest from Jada Moore. Ajalon Gillard hit the Owls’ first 3-pointer of the contest to give FAU its first lead of the contest at 9-6, which sparked a 9-2 FAU run to give the Owls’ a seven-point advantage, 15-8. Chicago State connected on a pair of jumpers to close out the opening period, but the Owls’ maintained a three-point lead after one, 15-12.
The Owls opened the second quarter a little slow, allowing the Cougars to score seven unanswered and retake the lead at 19-15. Staring down a four-point deficit with 7:35 remaining in the second period, the Owls locked in to produce an 18-1 run, capped off by a Gillard jumper to give FAU a 13-point advantage heading into the locker room, 33-20.
FAU continued their momentum into the second half, opening the third on an 18-8 run, capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Joiya Maddox, her third and fourth of the third quarter, to give the Owls a 23-point advantage, 51-28, with just under five minutes remaining in the period. FAU continued to maintain a 20-point lead after a jumper from Alexa Zaph to make it 58-38 with 1:13 remaining in the third, but a pair of trips to the free throw line for Chicago State closed the third to a 16-point FAU lead, 58-42.
The Cougars cut into the Owls, outscoring FAU 11-7 over the first five minutes of the fourth to bring the Owls’ advantage to 12, 65-53, however the Owls scored eight unanswered, capped off by a pair of free throws from Amber Gaston, to bring the FAU lead back out to 20, 73-53, with 52 seconds to play. Chicago State tallied three more free throws over the final minute of play to bring the game to its eventual 73-56 final.
NOTES AND TEAM STATS
- The Owls win marked their seventh-straight, the longest winning streak for the Owls since the 2013-14 season
- The win marked the second team-leading performance for Sofia Galeron, who scored a team-high 15 points, including 4-of-10 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. She also collected a team-high eight rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
- Joiya Maddox scored 12 points in the win, tying a career-best four made 3-pointers (4-of-6), in addition to tallying three rebounds and a steal.
- Janeta Rozentale rounded out the Owls double-figure scorers, recording her eighth double-digit performance of the season with 10 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from the line. Rozentale also tallied six rebounds, an assist, and a block.
- FAU outscored CSU 21-11 on turnovers and 15-8 in second-chance points
- The Owls bench also outscored the Cougars 24-15
UP NEXT
The Owls conclude non-conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 21 as they face Big Ten foe Illinois for a 1 p.m. ET tip inside the State Farm Center.
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